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Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

jalopnik.com

51–60 of 197 posts

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#51
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unrelated, but why would a car have a lidar jammer installed?

I think the reference is to ALP systems which are used to defeat law enforcement speed guns? Not sure if those operate on the same frequencies as the DrivePilot LiDAR. It seems unlikely they do otherwise LE would have difficulty prosecuting speeders in these new vehicles?

Aha, thanks! And here I was, thinking that speed guns were just doing basic radar stuff, but I guess speed guns have evolved like everything else.

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#52
post #38
post #13

Surprised to learn it's not tesla or comma with the first level 3 driving system approved for sale in the US. Would never have guessed Mercedes would beat them to it.

It’s not too surprising given the very specific conditions Mercedes runs in.

Yeah Currently

- Only in CA and NV

- Only below 40mph

- Only on specifically mapped freeways ("only available on freeways that have been mapped by Mercedes")

- There MUST be a vehicle in front of your car

- "reasonable road conditions with readable markings and lines"

- "clear weather"

- Daytime only ("Drive Pilot can’t be used at night or in the rain, and the headlights and wipers must be set to auto for it to work. ")

- Can't be in a construction zone

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/27/23892154/mercedes-benz-dr...

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#53
post #43
post #40

[flagged]

Mercedes will cover accidents where DrivePilot is at fault; your insurance will cover your faults. Would expect DrivePilot equipped vehicles to store insane amounts of telemetry from all their sensors, which will make it far easier for Mercedes to prove that you’re at fault than you to do the opposite.

Why? All the recorded telemetry is going to show up in discovery anyways

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#54
post #53
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mercedes will cover accidents where DrivePilot is at fault; your insurance will cover your faults. Would expect DrivePilot equipped vehicles to store insane amounts of telemetry from all their sensors, which will make it far easier for Mercedes to prove that you’re at fault than you to do the opposite.

Why? All the recorded telemetry is going to show up in discovery anyways

Probably 99% of accidents between two parties where insurance has to decide who’s at fault (and therefore who pays) don’t go to court so “show up in discovery” probably doesn’t apply?

Insurance companies typically view litigation as additional cost over and above paying out the policy coverage, and to be avoided whenever possible.

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#55
post #8

I think this idea makes some sense, in a mixed-traffic world where some vehicles are autonomous and others are not, some indication that a vehicle is driving autonomously is useful information to everyone around them. Additional situational information, provided it is not overly intrusive or overwhelming is generally beneficial. As for the colour, clearly Mercedes requested Turquoise for brand reasons. I wonder if th…

> some indication that a vehicle is driving autonomously is useful information to everyone around them I'm genuinely curious - what are you thinking when you say this? I don't know what I'd do with that information. It shouldn't make me drive differently - e.g. not be aggressive to see if I can invoke reaction(s) in the autonomous system, and I should already be driving w/ due care.

My understanding is the actual goal of the indicators is more for police than other drivers.

I.E. If you're watching a TV show on the center screen it could be illegal if you don't have the system (not like that stops anyone today anyways -_-).

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#56
post #40

[flagged]

In addition to what other people said that obviously it won't work like this I just want to say that purposefully crashing I would guess would be multiple different felonies so social media companies would take it down and only true idiots would be posting about it openly.

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#58
post #54
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? All the recorded telemetry is going to show up in discovery anyways

Probably 99% of accidents between two parties where insurance has to decide who’s at fault (and therefore who pays) don’t go to court so “show up in discovery” probably doesn’t apply? Insurance companies typically view litigation as additional cost over and above paying out the policy coverage, and to be avoided whenever possible.

And is the drivers' insurance company just going to accept a "just trust us bro" from Mercedes? Even absent litigation I'd expect voluntary disclosure, otherwise the drivers' insurance companies are going to be on the hook for much more of the payout.

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#59
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Semi-related but how do lidar-based systems handle nearby cars that have lidar jammers installed?

Semi-related how do lidar-based systems handle nearby cars with RPG launchers installed?

This is the rare moment where a random channel in YouTube beats Simpsons to speculate on one absurd scenario:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7YVxLLIuGM

It's not exactly what you describe but it comes close.

Re: Mercedes gets approval for turquoise automated driving lights

#60

I hope it doesn't engage at night, as we don't have turquoise LEDs so the blue ones will ruin night vision.

The idea of preserving night vision is based on rod cells being insensitive to light with a wavelength >640nm (ie red).

Halogen bulbs found in headlights produce a lot of light under that wavelength, and are going to be at a much higher intensity than turquoise indicator lights.

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